Top 10 Things to Do in Oslo

Akershus Fortress (Akershus festning) is a medieval castle built by King Haakon V around 1300 to protect Oslo from attack, dramatically situated on a promontory overlooking the Oslofjord. It served as the Norwegian royal residence during the Middle Ages and later as a prison; during World War II it was used by the German occupiers as a place of execution for members of the Norwegian resistance. The fortress grounds are open year-round and free to enter, offering excellent harbour views and housing the Norwegian Armed Forces Museum.

Aker Brygge is Oslo's vibrant waterfront district, developed in the 1980s on the site of a former shipyard and now one of the city's most popular areas for dining, shopping, and leisure. The boardwalk is lined with restaurants and bars with outdoor seating overlooking the Oslofjord and Akershus Fortress, and in summer it buzzes until late at night. The adjacent Tjuvholmen neighbourhood, developed in the 2010s, added a world-class contemporary art museum (Astrup Fearnley Museet) and architecturally striking residential buildings.

The National Gallery (Nasjonalgalleriet) houses Norway's largest public collection of paintings, sculpture, and drawings, including Edvard Munch's most famous version of The Scream (1893), which was stolen in 1994 and again in 2004 before being recovered. The collection spans Norwegian and international art from the early 19th century to 1945, featuring work by Munch, Tidemand, Gude, and the Impressionists. The gallery's collections have now been merged into the expanded National Museum (Nasjonalmuseet), which opened in 2022 as Europe's largest art museum.

Karl Johans gate is Oslo's main boulevard and the city's social artery, running 1.2 kilometres from Oslo Central Station to the Royal Palace through the heart of the city. The street is lined with cafés, restaurants, department stores, and historic buildings including the Storting (Norwegian Parliament), Oslo Cathedral, and the University of Oslo. The lower half is pedestrianised and is where Norwegians gather for national day celebrations on 17 May and for Christmas markets in winter.

Holmenkollen is Norway's most visited tourist attraction, a ski jump and winter sports arena that has hosted competitions since 1892, including the 1952 Winter Olympics, and was completely rebuilt to its current spectacular design in 2010. The jump towers 64 metres above the ground and offers panoramic views of Oslo and the Oslofjord from its observation deck, reached by lift. The adjacent Ski Museum (Skimuseet) is the world's oldest, tracing the 4,000-year history of skiing in Norway.

The Munch Museum (Munchmuseet) is the world's largest collection of works by Edvard Munch, Norway's most famous artist, housing around 28,000 works including paintings, drawings, prints, and watercolours he bequeathed to the city of Oslo on his death in 1944. The museum moved into a dramatic new 13-storey tower building on the Oslo waterfront in 2021, designed by Spanish firm Estudio Herreros to lean daringly over the fjord. The collection includes several versions of The Scream, The Madonna, and over 1,100 paintings.

The Bygdøy peninsula is Oslo's museum peninsula, a wooded headland west of the city centre that is home to five of Oslo's finest museums: the Viking Ship Museum, the Fram Museum, the Kon-Tiki Museum, the Norwegian Maritime Museum, and the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History. In summer, regular ferries connect Bygdøy to the Aker Brygge waterfront, and the peninsula also has popular swimming beaches including Huk and Paradisbukta. It is the single richest concentration of Norwegian history and culture in the country.